The Guardian documented the number of people killed by police in the U.S., telling the stories of who they were, and establishing the hidden trends in how they died, through a database, special reports, and multimedia. The investigation’s final tally for 2015 of 1,134 deaths was two and a half times greater than the last annual total recorded by the FBI. After the publication of “The Counted,” the FBI announced at the end of 2015 that it would overhaul its system of counting killings by police. The Department of Justice also began testing a new program for recording arrest-related deaths, drawing on Guardian data.
Seafood from Slaves
The Associated Press uncovered extensive use of slave labor in the Thai seafood industry, which supplies major U.S. supermarkets, restaurants, and food suppliers, such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, Sysco, Nestle, Whole Foods and Red Lobster. The investigation led to the freeing of more than 2,000 enslaved fishermen from Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, the jailing of perpetrators, congressional hearings and the proposal of new laws. The U.S. State Department used the series as part of its decision to give Thailand the lowest rating for human trafficking and has discussed the findings during diplomatic talks.
“‘Seafood from Slaves’ is investigative journalism at its best,” said Thomas E. Patterson, the Shorenstein Center’s interim director. “The story was extraordinarily difficult to uncover and its impact on people’s lives and public policy will last far into the future.”
Medicare Unmasked
The Wall Street Journal uncovered Medicare abuses that cost U.S. taxpayers $60 billion. Using 9.2 million newly-disclosed billing records, the Journal uncovered bogus, unnecessary, and harmful practices. After pieces in the series were published, the federal agency overseeing Medicare rejected industry proposals to cover additional high-cost tests for drugs rarely abused by seniors; triggered the departure of a high-profile laboratory CEO; and led some cancer patients to stop using a dangerous drug lucrative for and widely prescribed by doctors.
The Echo Chamber
Reuters examined the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket to scrutinize its most secretive process – how the justices select which cases they will hear. What Reuters found is changing how people view the concept of equal access to justice in the U.S. A small group of lawyers and their clients – typically the nation’s largest corporations – have secured a special entry point to the court, giving them a disproportionate chance to influence the law.
The Red Cross’ Secret Disaster
ProPublica and NPR found that the Red Cross had put public relations ahead of relief services and had been serially misleading about its use of donations. The series showed how the charity had failed to deliver basic aid after several recent major disasters, including Superstorm Sandy, leaving victims in distress, even though it had received a deluge of support from Americans eager to help. After the series ran, the Red Cross had to withdraw its claims about its spending and Iowa Senator Charles Grassley initiated an investigation.
Till Death Do Us Part
The Post and Courier’s five-part series examined South Carolina’s ranking as one of the deadliest states in the nation for women at the hands of men. The series revealed that more than 300 women were killed by their husband or boyfriend in a decade, while the state’s leaders did little to stem the violence. The series showed a state awash in guns, saddled with ineffective laws and lacking in resources for victims of domestic violence. The investigation spurred national discussion, pressured state legislators into drafting and fast-tracking domestic violence reform laws, and led to the appointment of a statewide taskforce.
Shadow Campus
The Boston Globe found that in America’s college capital, illegally overcrowded student apartments owned by profit-driven landlords are rampant, placing the health and safety of thousands of undergraduates at risk while city officials did nothing to respond to this lawless behavior.
Innocents Lost
The Miami Herald examined how more than 500 children died of abuse or neglect over a seven-year period after falling through Florida’s child welfare safety net, largely as a result of a misguided effort to reduce the number of foster children while simultaneously slashing services for troubled families. The series prompted immediate reforms, including the most far-reaching overhaul of child welfare laws in Florida’s history.
Unaccountable
The Reuters series, “Unaccountable,” by Scot Paltrow and Kelly Carr, exposed widespread accounting malpractice at the Defense Department and explains the human and economic costs of Pentagon accounting flaws.
The Lobotomy Files
In his series, Michael M. Phillips detailed how the U.S. Veterans Administration lobotomized more than 2,000 mentally troubled troops after World War II. Using documents the government didn’t know it had about a shocking medical practice it didn’t remember performing, the articles challenged the deeply held myth that the Greatest Generation came through war emotionally unscathed.
